Rodney's Run
by Lemon Icee
Summary: A little drabble set during "Duet". Cadman takes Rodney for a run.


**AN**: To be up front, I love McKay.

Cadman opened the eyes that were not her eyes in the dark of the unfamiliar room. McKay sure slept in a very strange way, flopped down unceremoniously on his rock-hard mattress, yet stiff as a board, hands straight at his sides, face planted sideways on his pillow, fish-like. Fully clothed. She stretched the strange body she still could not get used to and marveled as it reacted to her every command without the constant pushback of McKay's consciousness. Gingerly, as if worried she would wake the slumbering Canadian's self-awareness with a sudden move, she lifted the body up and swung it off the bed.

_Well now,_ she thought mischievously, flexing the broad hands in an exercise of control. _Let's see what this thing can do_.

She glanced around McKay's room with amusement. It was relatively undecorated (most Lanteans had at least _tried_ to make their alien habitats a home), save for a wall dedicated to the scientist's various awards and achievements, dating back, she noticed, to a third grade math competition. She rolled his eyes at the adornments. The rest of the room was sterile and bare, and looked barely lived in. She wandered over to the attached bathroom and looked at her new ward in the mirror. Her mind wandered to the various hilarious things she could do to McKay without him knowing, ranging from shaving his head to drawing a penis on his face, but she decided against it. Instead she decided to scrutinize his body with the malicious detail unique to females of her general personality type. She would have to have the full report for her friends (and for Katie Brown!) by the time she got out of this mess.

_Oh god I hope I get out of this mess_, she thought grimly as she removed his shirt, revealing a soft, pale belly. She poked at it with bemused disgust. Katie Brown was attracted to _this_? Botanists were weird. She shrugged and decided to proceed with an even more important inspection. With just a touch of embarrassment but more mean-spirited giddiness, she pried open Rodney's pants, dropping them to the floor revealing boxers decorated by little Saturn planets. With grim determination she stretched the elastic of the boxers forward and peered into the darkness within.

_Well, not bad_, she thought with a small shrug, and snapped the undergarments closed again. _Certainly not good enough to make up for the rest of it_, she thought with a small laugh as she hastily replaced his shirt.

As much fun as it was reviewing McKay's less than perfect physique, Cadman still felt the nagging stress of her situation weighing down on her. She didn't want to _think_ about what she would do if she could not escape his frame. The strangeness of a sudden gender reversal aside, McKay's constant slouching and lack of exercise were starting to get to her, causing her to feel the various aches and pains he did on a regular basis. And besides that, she thought with a bit of subdued panic, she was beginning to feel…faint. Faded, like her mind was fuzzy on the edges. She was worried, but she never let abstract fears dominate her life. In times like these, when things were uncertain and scary, she had one solution: a good long run. Unfortunately, she thought with bemused bitterness, McKay didn't look like his body could last a mile, let alone her usual seven. Still, she decided with renewed optimism, if she _was_ going to be stuck in his body for a long time, she could at least make do with what she had. What better way to start than by getting him exercising, whether he likes it or not?

She decided to go for that run. Unfortunately as she searched through his dressers she found no semblance of exercise gear. He would have to go in boxers and a t-shirt, and she only hoped that his shoes weren't too bad.

The first couple minutes of the run were fine. The city was pretty empty at night and she took him on an outside loop which avoided night-shift marines. Not that she wouldn't mind showing off his ridiculous appearance to anyone who would have a laugh at it, but she felt a little awkward about her situation and knew others would suspect she was in control as McKay never jogged of his own volition. After a few minutes however she felt the unfamiliar burning sensation of aching muscles, screaming at their over-taxation. She rolled his eyes again, amazed at just how out of shape he really was, even though he went on all those away trips. _He must really sit on his ass while he's here to make up for all the running he's got to do on missions_, she thought with exasperation as his chest burned for more oxygen and she was forced to gasp for air in a highly undignified manner. She didn't mind the unpleasant sensations, but pushed forward as his whole body screamed for her to stop. She made sure he didn't tear anything, but pushed him to the limit, which frankly was not that far. After a painfully short run, she walked him back towards the main city, panting and red faced.

She decided, feeling distinctly uncomfortable and homesick in this body so different from her own, that they would spend the night in her room. She wanted lay on her own bed and pretend, despite all the physical evidence to the contrary, that she was still Laura Cadman, the fit and frankly quite sexy marine, and not this chubby Canadian with an attitude problem. She didn't care how mad he would be when he woke up, she thought as she ran her hand over the crystal outside her door. She would get comfortable the only way she knew how because she deserved it after this. If he had only run a little faster from that dart, for god's sake, they wouldn't be in this mess. She stripped off his sweaty clothing without hesitation, standing in the buff in her room, feeling awkward but defiant, and hoping to god that it was the only time in hell that Rodney McKay would be naked in her bed. She slid under the covers trying hard to avoid looking in the mirror, as all amusement at her situation had flooded out of her. In a barely controlled panic, she closed her eyes, his overtaxed heart beating much too fast, and tried to fall asleep.


End file.
